An Old Truth: Fate Unmasked
by Shaydo
Summary: Star Wars: Rebels, Ahsoka va Vader. This is a segment of "An Old Truth" , "The Final Duel". - The Final Duel and ultimate fate of Ahsoka is revealed in this heart wrenching story. It gives us the ending we should have seen and the ending Ahsoka deserved to have. May the force be with you beloved Ahsoka.


**_An Old Truth_**

 ** _The Final Duel:_**

* * *

An Old Truth

The Final Chapter:

Ezra looked back over his shoulder and saw Ahsoka on the ground slowly getting up, he glanced over at Vader who was a goodly distance from her.

"Ahsoka." Vader breathed through his rent mask, his voice echoed with a duality, the natural voice diminished and overshadowed by the artificially terrible and deep one...

Ezra stared into Ahsoka's shocked face as she gradually turned to face the Dark Lord once again.

"Ahsoka." He said again with a sad look as he got to his feet, he stared down at his old apprentice with a shadow of reflection passing before him, Ezra thought he looked like a man trapped in a burning prison... And one without escape.

"Anakin." Ahsoka whispered staring at his hollowed and sunken eye socket, at the exposed flesh of his sagging face... the glowing yellow - orange eye...

Ahsoka stood straight, holding her ground as she looked him straight in his dead eyes.

"I won't leave you... not this time." Ahsoka said firmly with an unshakable determination.

Ezra panicked, What was she doing?! He looked back up at the hulking figure, suddenly paralyzed at the emotion playing across his enemies face.

Vader's remorseful expression drifted away, devoid of empathy his gaze hardened, an inferno conflagrated in his exposed pupil.

"Then you will die." He mercilessly pronounced her fate as his crimson blade hissed through the air as it rested upright in his fierce grip.

Ezra stared dumbfounded at the exchange, all he knew was that he was running towards Ahsoka as the walls of the Temple began to hasten their fall toward the summit, his run became a desperate dash... But Ahsoka saw him and with a powerful two handed motion she pushed him, he flew backwards an ample distance away from the lowering slab of intricate stone.

 _'This isn't his battle...'_ Ahsoka thought within herself.

 _'Ezra, your place is not to die here, not with me... And not for me.'_ Her resolve was absolute.

She stared into Ezra's blue eyes, knowing that this was the last time she would ever see the young hero.

Ezra saw her expression, tears suddenly burning down his face he started screaming in horror as the wall relentlessly came down before him.

"No! No!" His scream shattered the air as he glimpsed Ahsoka bringing both of her beautiful sabers up, blocking a vicious downward strike from Vader... They continued to trade blow after blow, all he could see now was a flicker of light from each blocked attack.

"Hurry Ezra!" Kanan yelled from the the top of the landing ramp from inside the Phantom, Ezra was out of his mind with fear for his friend, he slammed his fist against the wall for a moment then quickly turned and sprinted into the Phantom, hating himself and Vader even more as he left Ahsoka to the mercy of that mad man, Ahsoka was like his sister and he abandoned her! The phantom lifted off as Ezra wept, Kanan held him to himself.

"She's gone Ezra, shes gone..." Kanan's voice breaking as his words ripped at Ezra's heart.

Ezra had lost many people to the cursed Empire in his short life, he had even lost his own parents... This was different though, he didn't forsake his parents and he wasn't there when his friends died, his fury was in conflict with his choking sorrow as the Phantom raced into the sky, the Temple now far below them exploding with energy.

"I'm sorry Ahsoka" Ezra murmured, Kanan's grip tightening in response, his head pounded from the raw feelings radiating from his eviscerated heart.

"What are we going to tell... To tell Rex?" Ezra's words became garbled with suppressed grief.

"I don't know know Ezra... I don't know..." The torment was mimicked in Kanan's soft voice.

Ezra's heart began to burn with both the sorrow and rage that pulsed through his mind as he imagined the scene taking place far below in the accursed temple.

 _'I will avenge you Ahsoka... I will avenge us all.'_ Ezra swore within himself as faces swam before his minds eye, Ahsoka, his parents, the innocent inhabitants of Tarkin Town, he would give them all justice if it was the last thing he did in this life...

* * *

Ahsoka and her old master traded blow after blow until Ahsoka unexpectedly dashed a few yards away.

Her brother of the heart stood there looking at her with hate as she returned his stare, she turned back momentarily seeing the ship through the wall... observing it in her mind, she knew the Phantom was hovering and beginning it's swift ascent in a burning rush to leave Malachor.

 _'Farewell Ezra... Kanan...'_ She felt a pain in her chest at the thought of Kanan... At what this going to do to both him and Ezra.

"May the force be with you both." She spoke softly, her heart breaking with regret, she hadn't given them the farewell they both deserved. In her distracted state she almost didn't notice Vader, she methodically repelled Vader's blade as it crashed down towards her smaller figure, again and again she agilely evaded his continued advance.

A noise caught her attention, She could just barely hear the sound of the Phantom rapidly ascending over the sound of the crackling energy of the Temple.

She stared at Vaders mask momentarily before gazing over his shoulder at the expanding energy which was seeping over the pillars surrounding the resting place of the Sith Holocron.

Vader's attention was diverted to the deadly force emanating from the Temple.

Suddenly the energy surged, hissing, as it gushed outward in every direction in a circular wave.

Vader quickly grabbed his cloak in both hands, pulling it up like a sheet using it as a shield against the onslaught of sheer violence

Ahsoka nearly broke her ankle as she dove behind him, the energy licked at the tips of her toes as she just barely closed the distance.

As the wave gained momentum Vader was nearly blown off his feet, his concentration on the tide of death trying to consume him, with a roar his hold on his cloak became a death grip.

Vader's distraction with the torrent bearing down on him caused him to not notice Ahsoka pressed against his back as she clung to his belt and shoulder for dear life, her feet were dangling behind her as if gravity had changed directions now sucking her towards the wall behind her.

Vader gritted his teeth and with all his might he kept his feet locked and rooted, unwavering, his cloak began to shimmer and flicker in a rainbow of sparks as it repelled the crashing force, in the fierce heat it began to glow orange yet red on the inside, suddenly it was over...

The energy dispersed like smoke, slowly drifting out over the rocks below, only the glow of the temple remained.

Vader dropped to a knee as he staved off the tendrils of panic as he wasn't breathing... electricity raced continuously over the surface of his suits control panel, it had shorted out in the blast. Suddenly the console began to beep and hum, his prison rebooted itself and he began breathing again, he gasped for air but was met with the terrible feeling of being unable to breath on his own... His cursed mask did his breathing for him ...

Ahsoka watched him as he languidly recovered, she had wanted to help him yet ironically she had unwillingly backed a few meters away from him.

Fully recovered now, he stiffly turned his torso so he could face her again, he noticed that he was still clutching his cloak in a death grip, grunting he threw his cloak back around himself as it's vibrant red glow began to trickle away back into the uniform silky coal black.

"It was clever of you to shield yourself behind me... But that will not save you" his savage temper rekindled as he tilted his weapon upward with the aggressive and intricate pose of one who had mastered the Shien duelist form.

"Anakin... I know you, I know you don't want to be this shell of your former self, I can see the light in you... The conflict." Her words were firm and unashamed.

He was motionless but only momentarily.

He didn't respond other than to advance toward her, gripping his blade as tightly as he had held his cloak.

The walls began their gradual upward ascent, the Temple was returning to its original state...

Vader continued on his path, coming for her with sure steps... He was there... but a few feet from her.

She riposted his first blow, swinging before her blades were fully ignited, turning his heavy blow back towards him. He grimaced as hacked at her side, every strike she countered with masterful precision.

After a series of chaotic strikes their sabers locked, he bore down on her with all his strength.

Ahsoka grimaced, her arms throbbing from the strain, using all her momentum she directed his saber down to the ground, with mild success she broke the lock quickly taking a bold swing at his head with one of her sabers.

With lightning speed he turned his body catching her saber instantly, he turned his scarred helmet, glaring at her as his eyes stung from the pressure of the outside air his rent mask in.

Ahsoka gasped as he swung his blade with all his strength, she flipped her body backwards narrowly avoiding a slice that would have decapitated her... kneeling a few meters away, her breath came in ragged pulls after the fierce struggle.

Her only advantage was her speed from her fully mastered Makashi and Juyo form which in this fight was her only chance of defending herself from his overpowering Shien form.

He had become so powerful...His employment of his savage Shien stance went beyond the boundaries of even an experts skill... Vader seemed to be using a combination of every fighting form but with Shien as its foundation... Even the Anakin she knew before wouldn't have lasted long against this monster... this monster who now possessed his body.

She flipped her body around him, eluding his vicious strikes as she maintained a span between them that kept her barely out of his deadly reach, she only countered his blows with her own sabers when his reach bypassed her defenses.

After what felt like hours of playing cat and mouse with this mechanical terror, she jumped backwards putting an even greater span of safety between herself and Vader, unfortunately this also maneuvered her dangerously close to the edge of the Temple's summit.

He looked fixedly at her as he paused seemingly immobile as his pupils shrank in growing animosity, his glare steadily burned her with unwavering ferocity...

"I didn't know my apprentice would have become so cowardly in a fight especially with one who has destroyed her world, one who has taken so much from her." He said in a malicious voice, tempting her to face him on his terms rather than her hit and run tactics.

"I don't want to fight you... I never did." She confessed to him as he peered at her with umbrage.

"I want to save you." She said boldly as she met his gaze with her own...

Ahsoka recalled all the times she had looked into those eyes and had felt contentment and had drawn strength...

Now she felt terrible anguish when she looked at his face... At his mask.

She saw what he had become and what he had lost... what had died in him.

The only kindness she could do was attempt to bring the light back into his soul, it was something she was willing to die for... she would die for him if there was even a slight chance that he could be redeemed.

"Have you forgotten your promise to me?" She said with wetness enveloping her eyes.

"You told me that you would never let anyone hurt me." Ahsoka spoke the words almost as a plea, forcing him to remember who he had once been, how that she had been beloved by him before becoming this broken shell of the man she loved.

Vader stood there, hearing her words... She used them like her blades, she sliced through his fortifications that barricaded his heart from his grisly work, still... He did remember.

He knew that she was trying to strip away his armor with words since she was incapable of doing so another way...

Though unwilling he began recalling the circumstances she spoke of and the pledge he had given her... An oath spoken from his heart.

Dwelling on his past and that particular scene he started breathing more gradually...

His eyes softened, his recollections caused him pain, He evoked suffered as he remembered the trial of being compelled to hunt down someone he loved, someone he once trusted with his life.

He studied her, a penitent expression broke across his exposed face...

Ahsoka saw the feelings that were twisting... torturing her master, her face mimicked his as she watched the ghastly spectacle.

His face became blank as he abruptly spoke what he knew to be the truth.

"Anakin Skywalker could never protect those he loved... Least of all his apprentice. You were a fool to trust in him... just as I was a fool to be him...I will never and can never be him again." He said with palpable regret.

Ahsoka almost cried out at the pain in his admission, she brought to mind how she had abandoned him and how heartbroken his expression had been as she walked away from him, away from his world...

She grieved that she had forsaken him... Her guilt crushed her... She knew part of the blame for his fate belonged to her.

In a broken voice she divulged the thoughts of her heart.

"If I had known that this would happen to you... I never would have left you Anakin." She looked back up into his face.

"You never had the power to dictate the fate of Anakin, nor do you now have the power to direct my fate." He said with remorse, almost wishing that she had that power before and even now.

"If you cared about his fate then you wouldn't have deserted him... So long ago." He said as daggers twisted into her.

His grief began to ebb away as the pain brought back the anger that seized his mind and body.

"You left me for the council, you betrayed me just as the Jedi had betrayed me..." His words bit into her, causing her to tremble.

I never thought that you would hurt me after I had sacrificed so much for you. Had you remained loyal... Then perhaps my wife would have lived, my unborn children would have survived." He said in outrage, as his restraint began to wane, his grasp on his saber stiffened until it was unrepentant as stone.

Ahsoka noticed him straining, she could hear the leather popping in protest.

"Your treachery aided the Jedi in their endless goal to destroy my life... Obi Wan..." He hissed the name.

"He did this to me." Vader gestured toward his chest.

"He took away my future and caused me to be conformed to this Hell. I am bound to this prison, stuck in this torment!" Ahsoka could see him becoming unhinged with unbridled wrath.

"Unable to fulfill my destiny!" Vader howled.

Ahsoka gasped, she could intently feel the force emanating from him, the ground began to shudder, she could hear boulders in the distance being ground into rubble.

"I could have killed the emperor!" He exclaimed, the ground quivered even harder.

"I could have raised my family in peace, but the Jedi turned against me!" He nearly screamed the words at her, they swelled in her ears shaking her Jaw.

It was like an earthquake, she had no idea he was capable of such feats with the force.

"Obi Wan turned my wife against me, but you... You did worse, you forsook me knowing that I needed you, that I loved you!" She could hear his empty fist cracking with the pressure of his mechanical fingers, the air almost seemed to whine in protest with the brutal violence radiating from Vader.

Suddenly the storm dispersed, the hate wasn't gone but it's explicit emergence had subsided. Vader murmured his next words.

"The day you left him his eyes were opened even more to the nature of reality, that a man cannot trust anyone..." He turned to the side looking into the distance but not seeing any of it.

"Not even... Himself." His gaze broke and fell down at the last word.

"Anakin..." She nearly sobbed, moisture travel in streams down her smooth cheeks and dripping off her jaw.

He was like a statue, unwavering as his respirator slowly emanated the chilling sound of his breathing, the man seemed lost in a world of darkness and despair, his resolve kept him rooted in place, he turned his face up, his eyes were blazing anew with rekindled fire.

"The Jedi must be destroyed...you must be destroyed." Vader uttered in temerity.

Vader inclined his saber upright, once again he took an aggressive stance as he stared at her in renewed loathing.

Ahsoka, water still adhering to her jaw, gazed at his threatening posture.

"I am so sorry Anakin, sorry that I allowed this to happen to you, I should have stayed." she said in utter misery, despair drowning her will to go on.

"I am not Anakin!" He shouted vehemently,

Stretching out his empty hand, he lifted her off the ground using the force to strangle her. She dangled there for a few seconds as she clawed at her throat. He stared at her with maddening fury as be brought his arm down, slamming her into the ground.

She gasped and gagged as she tried to get a breath, after a few more painful heaves the sweet breath of life rushed back into her lungs.

She found herself on her hands and knees as she glanced up...

He was slowly walking towards her, relentless in his movement, his crimson blade humming with every step.

"Anakin is dead, everything he was is dead. He was destroyed by his friends!" His voice adamant

"He was destroyed by me." He declared with absolute certainty.

"Your efforts... are in vain" His words felt like they would crush what was left of her courage.

"I know you can be saved... As long as I live, I will do everything in my power to bring you back!" She shouted her unswerving intentions.

He continued his unrelenting walk on the road to her annihilation, determined to destroy his apprentice and end the pain he was in for which there was no escape but one, the only way to make it end was for her to die.

She came to her feet shakily, igniting her Lightsabers as she stood there waiting for him to finish his deadly advance.

He arrived before her, swinging at her with incredible brute strength. She was driven back, repeatedly he closed the distance, continually hacking at her with ever increasing vigor in every sweep of his blade, she was forced to retreat many times until they both neared the edge of the Temple summit. He sneered at her as he put all his strength into a downwards thrust, his blade slamming into her own, The shocking blow was so hard that she soared out into empty space with a steep elevation.

Vader barely noticed her predicament, he was so engrossed in his need to destroy her that without thinking he jumped down following her path to the ground far below, using the force to slow his fall.

Ahsoka just barely managed to break her headlong rush towards the solid ground, with a force push she decelerated but her velocity was still sufficient to cause harm when she crashed into the hard soil, dazed she spit out dirt noticing the unpleasant taste as she tried to regain her senses, for a short span of time she forgot where she was as the pain in her shoulder shocked her back into reality.

Gliding down the slanted Temple stone, Vader descended rapidly but not nearly at the speed of his enemy, he was already moving towards her before his feet had fully slammed down into the cracked dirt.

He noticed that she was dazed, she reached for her Lightsabers gripping them in a firm gesture of reassurance, he almost laughed at her boldness.

She groaned, quickly thinking of his relentless assault. He was unlike any foe she had faced before, she couldn't win this fight and she knew it.

He was there, right in front of her, without delay she brought her sabers up blocking a powerful blow, it was faster than she had expected.

He brought the crimson energy down over and over, she barely thwarted the chaotic yet masterful strokes.

His speed was accelerating as his rage grew moment by moment.

Ahsoka struggled to stave off his efforts to destroy her while simultaneously battling her own panic at the sheer violence of their altercation.

She was losing hope, trying some last ditch efforts she managed to but herself some time.

Feigning then thrusting with a quick jab as she used her left saber to deflect his next blow, dashed towards him expecting to dismember his leg.

Vader expected such a move from her, in the heat of battle she had forgotten that he knew her and had trained her Makashi and Juyo form with intricate knowledge, he used it to his advantage

As she dashed towards him, he released his left hand from the dual grip on his blade, he swiftly dodged to his right, shock raced across her face as he reached out with his now empty hand and grabbed her by her free saber arm.

She gasped as he lifted her up into the air, their blades still locked, she lacked the momentum and leverage to use her other saber.

He flipped her as he spun his body around, adding to the momentum, combining all his might with the force he threw her, she flew backwards, facing him .

She raced through the air, noticing the ground moving under her at a tremendous speed... she heard the impact before she felt it, her upright body crashed back first into the Temple stone. Fortunately her Lekku braid absorbed the impact thus preventing her skull from cracking at the brutal contact.

Vader's coldly appraised her. "She survived" he sighed to himself.

Dazed, her fingers flexed a couple times, her breastplate was digging into her collarbone. She groaned in pain, she felt like she had broken a few of her rips and maybe one of her fingers on her right hand, casually she propped herself up on her arms and knees careful not to put weight on her hand.

"Yup." she muttered staring down at the index finger of her right hand, it was bent at an odd angel, she fumbled with her other hand slowly cupping her broken finger in the fist of her unharmed hand.

She took a deep breath and clenched her teeth as hard as she could, she cracked her finger back into place, she screamed unintentionally at the lightning racing up through her hand to her upper arm and back down, pulsing mercilessly.

Vader was standing in front of her, an unreadable expression of his exposed face...He hadn't struck her down... Not yet.

She was missing one of her Lightsabers, she hadn't spotted it yet even though her eyes moved rapidly over the landscape around them.

"I will give you one more chance, a second chance that none before you have ever received." He said in a calm calculative voice.

"Join me, be loyal to me as you should have been all those years ago. Together we can destroy the Emperor and bring peace back to the galaxy." He presented her the terms of her surrender, the only chance to live through this day.

"Even if I joined you and we destroyed the Emperor that would not bring peace to the Galaxy." She spoke softly as his eyes hardened.

"The "Empire" is what's wrong with the Empire, and why there cannot be peace... As long as the Empire denies freedom to everyone under its dark shadow the Rebellion will survive.

"I will never leave you Anakin." She said once again with great meaning packed into her sincere voice.

"But I will never join you..." The words rang with absolute clarity.

A look of hurt passed across his face. He tilted his face up a small degree as his eyes slowly closed, he stood there looking transfixed in whatever thoughts were racing through his mind.

abruptly his eyes opened, the dark fire rekindled anew.

As she watched his expression transform she groaned inwardly as shards of pain still laced up and down her spine.

A crackling sound pierced through her skull as the beautiful shade of garnet from his blade shone down, reflecting off her sweaty face.

She lowered her gaze to his feet beginning to accept her fate, she knew she couldn't... Wouldn't kill him, she also knew that she wouldn't leave him... There was only one way this fight would be concluded. She noticed something on the ground, the light of the temple refracted off the silver hilt of her blade.

Ahsoka evaluated the space between each of his legs in his decisive posture, her head gently rose as she observed him approaching her on steady feet.

He stood above her, his arms flexed as the blade began its lethal arc down toward her.

She mustered all her strength, darting between his legs, she turned in mid air hitting him with a force push as she cleared the few meters that separated her from the fallen weapon.

She plunged her hand into the dirt, gripping her blade as dirt fell from her fingers and palm, she ignited the blade as she stared at the back of his helmet.

He steadied himself, turning around to face the revived threat.

She ignited her other saber as he fully faced her, his own blade tilted upward in preparation for his murderous commitment.

He advanced again using a complex series of powerful strikes and jabs which she had extreme difficulty evading, his blade suddenly nicked her upper arm, gasping from the painful shock she reacted a violent flurry of attacks aimed at his legs which he effortlessly circumvented.

Grimacing with exertion she slashed at him with both her silver sabers in a diagonal arc, his burning red blade caught them in a brutal lock.

Vader pushed her blades down as his arm twisted, lowering his crimson blade, forcing the three blades down. She grunted at his vigor at her blades continued to lower hers down towards the ground.

As he glared down at her, the brightness of the sabers bond illuminating her face as it refracted off his helmet, it was so bright that it was stinging her eyes and partially blinding her peripheral vision.

Suddenly Vader pivoted her blades further to the side at an awkward angel while he smoothly raced his own blade down her own, he tiled them upward at the last instant, she flinched but not not fast enough.

The crimson blade sliced through her the tip of her left Lekku, a few inches of it parted away in a quick spiral bounding off into the dirt a few meters away.

She yelped at the pain, rolling back a few paces.

On one knee she her hand tentatively reached up, she gently caressed the burning hole. She nearly wept at the sensation, her balance was distorted... Torgruta used their Lekku for balance and agility, it was like losing part of her vision... or hearing.

She lowered her hand before her eyes, she stared at the shock at the vivid blood which coated her hand, dripping off her fingers...she likewise felt blood streaming down her forehead, it streamed over her cheeks finally falling off her jaw and down neck. Tears joined the blood as she glanced back up into his eyes.

Something happened to Vader that he had rarely experienced since he donned the suit, he felt empathy for her pain...

She could see the look of pity in his eyes, the conflict was back in his eyes.

As he looked down at her he whispered in a broken tone.

"You cannot even begin to imagine the pain I suffered." He told her in a surprisingly unsteady voice.

"The pain of having your flesh afire... As you gasp in shock you unwittingly breath in fire as you start to really feel the agony..." He told her in a penitent tone.

"Not only were my lungs and skin scorched...I lost the rest of my limbs... It makes you feel completely defenseless" Vader moved his arm in front of himself flexing the mechanical fingers into a fist.

"While you are feeling this excruciating pain and terror... The man who was supposed to be your friend, your brother... He watched you, his inaction a cruelty" Vader's eyes smoldered.

"And then to learn that my wife was dead... dead by my own hands... Without even knowing it." He said in a hushed voice.

"Ahsoka, you have yet to learn the true meaning of pain." His voice was earnest in its sympathy rather than venomous.

Her eyes smoldered in defiance at his assumptions.

"How do you think I felt when I learned of the Jedi Purge and I realized that you and Plo Koon were dead?" Her retort filled her face with a haunted desolate expression.

"I know your pain." She said with boldness.

"Then you must understand that your death will be a mercy that I... That I Was denied by both my allies and enemies." He was deliberately vague.

She stared in dismay at the meaning of his words.

"Obi Wan... He just stared at me while I was burning alive, he didn't give me the mercy of a swift death, a mercy I would have afforded him." Vader's glare was laced with the torment.

Ahsoka imagined the scene, wishing that she had been there... to end his suffering.

"And... The pain of being a slave, a slave your entire life." He said suddenly glaring down at her.

He rushed towards her lashing out his blade already completing its sequence as she narrowly managed to deflect it.

"A slave to the huts!" She dashed to his left swinging at his side, he used a plate on his forearm to deflect one of her sabers as he caught the arc of her other blade with his own.

"A slave to the Jedi!" He bellowed as he crushed her blades with a strike which stung Ahsoka's hands and caused pain to lance up her broken finger

"And now... a slave to this suit." She jabbed her blades at him but with expert precision he thrust them away spinning one in a circular motion causing her to almost lose the blade again. He swung down as she just managed to dive away for felt like the hundredth time that day.

She was no Jedi and now she had some fury of her own driving her on, she ran at him in a frenzied attack as she slashed at him fast and faster until he was driven back a few feet barely maintaining his aggressive Shien stance.

"You think me a traitor, yet you exterminated the Jedi" She swung again at him in rage.

"You murdered the clones who defended the Jedi!" Again she drove him back a few more feet with swift strikes that were almost too quick for him to maneuver, her anger was giving her strength and speed... making her almost too agile for him to counter.

"And worst of all, you serve the man and the Empire who ordered the clones to murder my friends who were as much my family as you are!" through a complex series of fast strikes and lunges she managed to clip his leg with a shallow strike.

"I loved Plo Koon! He was like a father to me!" She shrieked at him as she advanced with another flurry of strikes, she managed to slash a glancing blow across his helmet, it was more than a shallow cut but his helmet was made of a tough armor, consequently the cut was ultimately ineffective.

"They deserved to die for betraying the republic." Vader said out of hand.

"Like how you betrayed the republic?! And now serve an Empire?!" Ahsoka said still with anger in her heart.

"I didn't betray the republic, I saved it. By forming the Galactic Empire we made all worlds strong enough to defend themselves from insurgency and worse threats, I preserved freedom and justice in a way that the republic never could... As the Clone Wars demonstrated" He said, beginning to gain back ground even with his grazed leg.

"You murder people who disagree with the Empire, you terrorize the innocent and you brutalize those who fight you! How is that preserving freedom?!" Ahsoka retorted, weariness overcoming her as her anger began to fade.

"I did what was necessary to safeguard those I loved most and those who were loyal to the republic, nothing more. And now to protect those who are loyal to the Empire I must exterminate the Rebel insurgents, those like yourself" he said, his anger beginning to give way to weariness as well, his breathing modulator was damaged to the extent of lowering the oxygen in his Blood, but his emotions kept him going, kept him strong.

"You are fighting for the same evil you opposed in the Clone Wars." She said coldly.

"You fought the Sith and now you are one" she accused.

"I became a Sith to save my wife, I never intended to kill the Jedi, my plan was to kill the Emperor after he taught me the secret of how to keep those I loved from dying" he said with a cold rage.

"And the Obi Wan came to Mustafar..." Vader said bitterly.

"He turned Padme against me by telling her what I had done at the Jedi Temple, before I could explain myself, she had already turned against me before the first word left my mouth... all because of Obi Wan" The rage was on a slow burn.

"Before I learned what I needed to learn; what I had sacrificed so much to achieve... I was destroyed, my wife and children were dead at my own hands and the only friend left to me was my lying twisted master who I longed to destroy since I became his apprentice." Vader finished with a tone of resignation for the inevitable conclusion of their altercation.

Ahsoka ached with the words, she hated Chancellor even more now than she had before, knowing that he had been poisoning her masters minds for all the years they fought in the Clone Wars and even before then.

"I'm not going to run away Anakin, I know that you can be saved and I will not abandon you again" She said, her anger finally being replaced with love and acceptance and determination for what she may have to do for what was left of Anakin in this broken machine of a man.

"There is still good in you, I can see it." She said the same words yet he responded in the same way, he calmly ignored such claims.

Vader stood mute, he looking up as he again closed his eyes, he almost looked at peace for a moment but just as before it faded rapidly because of his dual nature.

Ahsoka stood her ground, looking at the face she once loved... a face she still loved.

"You are a fool to reject my offer, you are a fool to not flee... it will cost you everything." He said, tiring of the exchange as he readied his saber into an aggressive pose, he accelerated his movements and with deadly precision struck at her repeatedly.

"You might kill me, but you wont destroy me, who I am will remain in those I love... I will remain in you." She said in a heart broken voice... staring at him.

He advanced, no more hesitation and no more games. He started attacking her with a precise barrage of well placed strikes designed to break down her defenses and give her no time for a counter attack, she was continually backing up until she was a few feet from the Temple wall, he pushed her back against the wall cutting at her again and again, her back was suddenly pressed up again the Temple, she barely moved out of the way as a downward cut sliced down the wall from what would have been her head to her groin.

She evaded him as best as she could as he pressed the assault. His strength increased with his growing hate, he struck at her again and again as he forced her once again into a saber lock, they both tensed and flexed as the sabers slowly moved close to her face again, she tried to pivot his blade downward mimicking his previous tactic with a strong push but this was a mistake, he backed up swiftly right as she pushed against his blade, he turned his blade down cutting the saber in her right hand of in half.

Still holding his Lightsaber with both hands he picked her up with the force, with his left hand he grabbed her right arm which had the other saber in it, his fingers tightened like iron vices forcing her hand open, she drop her ignited saber, it retracted as it dropped to the dirt and rolled away.

Ahsoka was dangling from her arm, his grip was excruciating... It felt like her arm was about to shatter.

"Had it all come down to this? To die without victory... Would her death even aid in that end? After she was gone who would bring this broken man home? Who would care... Or remember?" Her thoughts were as painful as his grip...

She looked into his molten eye... He stared back into her liquid light blue eyes... fire and ice danced around each other.

After a few prolonged seconds of her dangling there he suddenly pulled her towards him while thrusting his hissing blade forward.

She grunted, looking down she saw two thirds of the blade buried in her stomach, his hand released her as gravity caused her to slide her off the blade.

She fell to the ground using her feet to push herself backwards.

She clutched her stomach with both hands, smoke and incinerated clothing particles drifted up between her open fingers... she thought it should hurt but for some unfathomable reason she didn't feel any pain... rather she felt an odd displaced feeling in her gut... like something was missing.

With all her strength she propped herself up on her knees, leaning back with just enough strength to stay upright.

Vader was standing there, towering over her, his blade lowered as he watched her the conflict still tormenting his once perfect features.

As she clutched her wound, the sound of his irregular breathing from his damaged artificial respiratory system became more and more quiet in her head, she slowly tilted her head up...Her penetrating eyes burrowing into his.

He was inert, motionless as they continued to stare at one another, neither said anything.

Slowly his fingers moved intricately down the hilt of his saber, he held it in both hands and brought it up, holding it like a spear so the point of the blade poised down at her. He clenched his Lightsaber in both of his tight fists, exerting so much strain on the hilt that she was surprised it hadn't cracked. He continued to look down at her, and a tormented expression rooted itself across his face.

Ahsoka had a flash back of when Anakin was hunting her after the Jedi Order and the Republic believed her guilty of being behind a terrorist attack that killed Jedi and numerous other including clones...

After she had refused to turn herself in he and numerous clones had chased her through a sewer system, he had caught her and cornered her at a dead end, the end of a pipe which dropped off into a wide shaft that led into the lower levels of Coruscant. He had begged her to turn herself in... He promised that he would never let anyone hurt her... But she had jumped off the ledge of that pipe onto a moving ship going down into the lower districts, she had gazed up and saw him looking down at her with that same look. It was a look of fierce remorse and resignation to do what he must do.

The memory faded slowly, she was becoming sluggish from the terrible wound in her gut... Being pulled into another partial memory she recalled how blue Anakins eyes had once been, how they had held compassion and hope... She wondered if they would ever return to their original state, to cease from being these hateful burning orbs. Anakin was still staring at her with the same expression he had during that fateful day... So long ago...

She refocused, gazing momentarily at the blade still pointed at her like a magnificent burning sword... he continued to hesitate which as she had heard was very unusual for him.

She looked at him for what she knew would be the last time in this life...Perhaps forever... and told him the truth with every last bit of emotion and concentration that was left in her darkening mind, speaking why she still had the chance.

"I love you... Anakin..." His eyes softened at her sluggish speech.

He remembered Padme saying those exact words... And how he had destroyed her, whether he meant to or not was irrelevant...

"I forgive you... for everything" Ahsoka said out of breath, she was starting to slump, her strength failing as her face began to crease from the pain of the wound.

Vader looked down at her, hearing her omission was pure agony to his soul, he remembered the promise he had made to her in the dark water tunnel so long ago... he couldn't keep that promise just as he had failed to save those he had loved... His mother, friends and above all... Padme, he had failed in his oath to keep her from dying...

He intensely recalled how much he had once loved Ahsoka, as he searched his feelings he wasn't surprised to find that he still loved her with no less compassion than before...

 _'I can't do this'_ he groaned inwardly, it would be like reigniting the burning fire that had consumed his flesh so long ago...

The thought felt like a knife twisting in his gut.

He stared at her, torment creasing his withered features... She was already dying and her face revealed her suffering from the wound he had inflicted upon her.

 _'I must show her mercy, the mercy I was denied...'_ His dark thoughts threatened to crush him under their unfathomable weight.

The part of him that was still Anakin wanted nothing more than for Ahsoka to live, But he couldn't allow her to survive... She was part of his past, a past that he had striven to keep locked away forever, he couldn't bear if any of it survived, he would be tormented to a degree that he couldn't bear, If she lived it would be a constant knife in his gut, a never ending torment for him, yet if he killed her it would be even worse he knew. The only way to escape the pain of his past was to erase his past. Anakin knew that deep within her she must be suffering just as he did... The last thing he wanted was for her to suffer as he had, better to be nothing than to feel his pain, His eyes tightened with resolve as a stream of moisture rolled down his cheeks escaped down his battered cheeks.

 _'Just a little longer'_ He thought to himself as he gathered his resolve, he continued to watch her as the seconds went by, she was staring into his eye past the red hue of his lethal blade... He had never hesitated before, but he had rarely loved anyone the way he had loved her, it was so strong that it's burning light had survived his eternal into the darkness of the Sith.

He winced involuntarily as she moaned in pain.

Hearing her agony gave him the resolve he desperately needed, he must show her mercy... The mercy Obi Wan should have shown him all those years ago...

For a few more moments he stared at her, still he tightening his grip on his cardinal blade, flexing his mechanical fingers over it again and again... it had been years since he hesitated from doing what was necessary and yet he was still hesitating.

He would sooner strike down himself and he had tried before, however the Force would not allow him to escape his torment so easily. This was worse than killing Padme for he hadn't known that he had killed her, he had barely choked her and it was done out of passion and rage from her betrayal, she had brought Obi Wan to kill him. But this... This was cold blooded murder, he had committed such actions before but always for a good reason, there was no reason to this barbarity however.

He knew that there was only one way he would be able to do what he must, he allowed his suit to pull in a few deep breaths before he gave into his rage, letting it flood through his body and soul.

Pausing for only a second more he Suddenly bellowed with a fierce cry of agony laced with rage as Ahsoka sleepily stared up at him.

His shout echoed through the plane of rocky mounds , across the Temple surface and to the rocky ceiling far above with a shuddering roar which shook the very ground.

The vibrant red blade began to descend at incredible speed.

Time slowed down in his mind, he saw the tip of saber slowly burn through the air...

Vader clenched his teeth as he saw the blade incinerate her armor and shirt where in it's continual descent... It passed through her skin and bone like butter it finally slammed down through her upper breast, cutting through bone and eviscerating muscle...it hissed as it struck her heart and rushed protruded through her lower back.

To Vader it felt as if all the light left in him was extinguished the moment the blade touched her... It was as if he was also impaled on that blade, he felt it burn in his own chest, melt his own bones and incinerate part of his soul as he continued to stare into her cyan eyes, her eyes were like living fountains of water which were now draining into eternal darkness.

For an instant the glow of the blade illuminated her torso so that he could see through the skin of her chest, see how the saber bit into her heart... The sight nearly took him to his knees.

The echo of his shout finally died away...

He regretted what he did... long before he did it.

Almost immediately he deactivated the blade, and swiftly knelt down letting her head fall into his arms as he caught her torso on his knees, his forearm cradled her head...

Ahsoka tried to take a breath but she couldn't... she could feel the terrible damage and the intense acute overpowering pain but she ignored both sensations.

Ahsoka continued to look into the face of her beloved master as her hand began to rise to his face as his gripped her other motionless hand.

She cupped his cheek as his tears roller over her fingers... the darkness started to shroud her eyes around her peripherals turning her vision into an ever shrinking dot... All became darkness...She began to see and feel a light that she had known before... It called to her, it felt as if her true self rose out of her body...She left her old body behind to follow the light what she hoped would be the next chapter of her existence.

Vader looked into her eyes as she raised her hand and touched his exposed cheek as a tear rolled down her face, over her lips and down her Jaw, she stared back into his face, his eyes, as the life ebbed away from her own.

Her hand began to drop away but he caught it and held it to his weeping face...

At that moment he wanted nothing more than to die with her, to end his suffering, he was dazed with the agony washing through him.

Water still streaming from his eyes, her head still resting on his his arm, he knelt there for what seemed ages.

"No..." He whispered.

"Ahsoka... No..." he barely breathed the Words.

"What have I done?" He said to himself as a flicker of memory played before his eyes, tormenting him... The memory of how he had asked the same question after he had cut off master Windu's hand... Which was the same as killing Windu himself as that action led to Sidious destroying him...

In the furthest recesses of his mind he now felt nothing... no Light, only darkness... It was as if a part of himself had died with her...Now he had truly everything... He felt as he had before... As he did on the day his world ended, every shred of hope was extinguished and all that remained was the ash of his dreams, all that was left was the darkness that permeated his mind and his soul.

He squeezed her hand with great strength, his tears began to slightly pool in the bottom of his mask...Memories of all that he had lost washed before him...

He felt as if all that existed in the universe was himself and the body in his lap, the weight of the searing fire burning in his heart paralyzed him, he released his hold on her hands, both his hands stretched out to cup her face, weeping as he continued to kneel there... mute for a time staring at her face... Her dead eyes that not a minute ago had been full of life, hopes and even dreams.

He pressed his mask to her forehead... Leaning back he gradually moved his hand up, resting it on her forehead as he slowly closed her eyelids.

After a time his gaze finally broke away, he looked up at the Temple summit and yet he couldn't see his ship, though he hardly cared...

As he continued to gaze at what he had done, he noticed something hanging partially out of her waist band behind her belt... He extended his arm gently pulling it out... It was her old Silka beads... She must have kept them there, perhaps as a constant reminder of who she had been.

He raised his hands to his face, holding his masked head and he leaned back and forth with the torment of the memories that were exacting their price from her eviscerated heart, the beads clicked against his helmet as moaned in excruciating agony, after a time he stilled.

He clipped the Silka beads to the side of his belt... They would remain there until his death he vowed to himself... there they would remain out of sight and out of mind... But they would always be with him.

He took her blades both the severed one and the one that was whole also clipping them on his belt.

He started to examine the full extent of the damage she had done to his suit, he was impressed with her skill, he had a ragged slice on his helmet, a few burn marks on his shoulder guards and of course the slice to his leg.

He looked back down at her, and decided that he would do one last act that Anakin would have done, Anakin was gone but his memory remained...

He decided to bring her home and lay her to rest, for Anakin loved her as much as he loved Padme.

He gently laid one hand behind her shoulders and the other behind her knees, tilted her so her head rested in the crook of his arm instead of being disturbed as he walked. "I have done this for no other I have killed" he thought bitterly to himself.

"But there has been none other that I had loved" He answered himself as continued his walk, searching for a pathway to the surface.

As he carried her he traversed numerous paths to reach the surface, he found a natural kind of stair way around a rocky foundation pillar, he sluggishly ascended the gritty path until he found himself in a large cave like opening that led directly to the surface. He gently laid her body down in the mouth of the cave... He had to walk a ways to use his transponder beacon located in his suits emergency systems, after walking a ways off he activated the beacon, walking back to the cave.

He walked back into the caves mouth, standing motionless for a moment staring at her lifeless figure...

He sat down slowly by her, against the inner lining of the cave mouth, though unnecessary he laid her back in his arms as he slowly lost himself in a torrent of vivid memories...

He lost all sense of time, as if he was fading in and out of reality, he felt like a stranger in his own body during the moments he was back in his own form, in his self made delusions he had the rest of his limbs and none of this Hell had happened, he leaned his head back against the cave wall, his damaged breathing modulator echoing in the short space as he drifted into troubled sleep.

* * *

He found himself somewhere familiar... The Jedi courtyard where he had fought Barris, a fight that had commenced after he had discovered that Barris had betrayed Ahsoka.

Ahsoka was standing there talking to Obi Wan and Qui Gon... Yoda was sitting on a bench, younglings were practicing their lightsaber forms under the tutelage of master Sinube, the old master Sinube was explaining the basics of Soresu to them, his voice faded into the background as he heard Ahsoka talking about how Anakin had trained her so well that she had survived being captured by Trandoshan man hunters, how because of Anakin she had been able to survive and lead others to survive.

"Yes you are fortunate to have him as your master, Ahsoka, Anakin might be loose with rules but I have rarely seen a better teacher." Obi Wan confided in her as he looked over at Anakin.

"Yes Ahsoka, I knew the boy before he was a man, even in the short time I knew him he saved all our lives by destroying a battle station controlling a droid army" Quigon added his praise to Obi Wan's as he too began to stare at Anakin.

"Yes, I am proud to be his student, I would have no other master before him" Her liquid cyan eyes bore into him.

Tears were falling off of Anakins face as he sank to the ground staring at each of them.

"I am so sorry." He wept.

"Ah Anakin..." Obi Wan started speaking.

"We know that you only did what you had to do... You did what you did to save your wife..."

Anakin looked back over his shoulder, all the younglings were looking at him... He remembered that he had personally cut down every one of them, he saw each of their faces as they looked at him with slight grins and trusting eyes.

"Speaking of your wife." Quigon said in a calming tone.

"Where did she go?" Quigon asked as he started looking around, his gaze settling on something to Anakin's left.

Anakin slowly rose from his knees as he looked to his left, Padme was sitting with Yoda as she looked at him lovingly.

"Annie, come and sit with master Yoda and me." She chimed to him with a dazzling smile. It melted his heart, love filling his eyes as he uncharacteristically rushed to her, he knelt before the bench clutching her hands to his face not caring about the looks from Yoda or the others there.

"I have missed you so much... Padme." He confided in her in a rapturous voice.

She laughed.

"Missed me? But Anakin we have been here all along." She told him in a compassionate voice.

"What?" He asked in confusion...

"Some of us are dead... some of us yet live but all of us remain here... With you... Here." She said the last word as she reached out and touched his chest where his heart was.

"As long as we remain here, we shall never be parted from you, not in this world or the world to come." she said in a confident tone.

All of the others were by him now.

Quigon slowly walked over him, stared him in the eye and smiled... Quigon kept his gaze locked with Anakin as he reached out and placed his hand over the same spot Padme had just touched, he turned into light and sped into him, into his heart.

Next Obi Wan walked over and put his hand on Anakin's shoulder.

"We were brothers Anakin." Obi Wan smiled.

"That will never change my friend." Obi Wan said in warm tone.

Obi Wan placed his hand over Anakins chest and just like Quigon he turned into light and zipped into his heart.

Next came Yoda.

"Carry much pain you do, forget who you are you must not, redeemed all men can be. Find love within and peace you shall find." Yoda finished, he turned into light and passed into Anakins heart as well.

All the younglings came over, they told him they forgave him, one by one they turned into light and became part of him.

Padme then stood up, walking to him. Her fingers found his, she leaned up and kissed him passionately, deeply... He never wanted the kiss to end.

"I forgive you, and I will always love you." She whispered into his ear as tears filled his eyes once again, she placed her hand over his heart, turned into light and vanished within him.

"Master..." Ahsoka said softly.

Anakin looked up into her face.

Suddenly Anakin ran to her and embraced her in a powerful hug, he whispered into her ear.

"I am so sorry snips, I am so sorry." He sobbed into her neck, she held him to her hugging him back just as fiercely.

"I am here, truly here." She whispered.

He leaned back enough to stare into face.

"How?" he asked plaintively

"When you die, before you pass into the realm of the Cosmic Force, If you are strong enough you can influence those who are bonded to you before passing into eternal peace, I carry not only my message but messages from numerous people who are bonded to you, some strongly, some weakly... I didn't bring everyone's words but I brought those who I thought would mean the most to you." She answered him with compassion.

"I wan't to go with you Ahsoka, I don't want to wake up." He said as he cupped her cheek.

"I cannot bear all I have done, it is too much for anyone even a... Sith" She grasped his face as she wiped a tear away from his cheek.

"Didn't I already tell you? I forgave you killing me before you even did it." She comforted him with her words.

"I took away your future... I took you away from everyone you love and all who love you..." He said in an agonized voice.

Ahsoka looked away...

"That is the price of the Dark Side, it causes pain wherever it touches life... You have hurt someone unforgivably, I fear that he will not be so forgiving... But I want him to forgive you... The fact that you are even having this dream means that Anakin is not yet dead and that there is still hope." She told him as grief saturated her voice, grief for him.

"Ahsoka... When I die... Will I be with you all?" He asked her gesturing around himself at where everyone else had been, a tear came to her eye.

"Everyone is together in the Cosmic Force... All identity is retained, I and all people shall be with you... Forever." He sighed in relief.

"Ahsoka... I can't go back, I cannot face that darkness again... I will just repeat the same mistakes that I have repeated for two decades." He looked down as fire burned in his heart.

"You must go back, you must fulfill your destiny... I won't forget you Anakin... Nearly everyone has forgiven you, and will be waiting for you, keep that in your mind... In your heart. I cannot help you face the darkness, you must defeat it yourself or be lost to it." She said with regret.

"I am sorry I failed you Anakin, I failed to save you from yourself." He looked up back into her eyes.

"You didn't fail me snips... I failed you." He said bitterly, self loathing consuming his thoughts.

Ahsoka laid a hand on his shoulder.

"The time I spent with you were the best years of my life, I have no regrets save one... That it ended... I am sorry that I left you Anakin." She said mournfully repeating her apology .

"I forgive you Ahsoka..." He said with as much warmth and acceptance as he could pack into his words.

"Ahsoka...I am afraid to return to myself... To become that darkness again." He said with pleading eyes as he looked at her.

"The darkness will not hold you forever Anakin, you must fight it but it will be hard to fight what you are... Remember this vision, hold it to yourself and draw strength from me... From everyone who is in your heart, their light will give you strength when the time comes..." She told him, empathy saturating her voice.

He nodded with a fearful look still locked on his face, he looked up as she spoke again.

"Anakin... thank you for caring for my body... I didn't expect that." She murmured as more tears leaked from her eyes.

He gazed at her with sorrow for what he had taken from her this day.

"We will be together again." Ahsoka said as she came close, she put both her hands over his chest, as he stared into her liquid cyan eyes she turned into light and fled into his heart.

The darkness enveloped him...

A T-4 A shuttle approached in the distance as Vader slept on, his breathing module making a rasping moan during each breath which showed how damaged it truly was.

The shuttle landed a few dozen meters away from the cave entrance, Vader sat undisturbed, unaware that anyone was coming for him, he slept on in the mouth of the cave.

A dozen Storm Troopers filed out of the shuttle with the captain trailing behind them, all had their masks on and were prepared for an intense firefight. They spotted the cave and started advancing toward it in a spread out formation.

There were unique decals on the armor of the troopers and each had a small bow rifle insignia on their helmets showing that these were elite troopers, not a force to be taken lightly.

As they spread out coming ever closer to the cave entrance, one suddenly spotted Vader's slumped form, he quickly motioned to the others with a quick hand signal. Withing moments they all made a beeline in Vader's direction, as the troopers neared the entrance each stopped one by one a few paces away from the entrance... They each stared, unsure of what to do.

The Captain approached last, bringing up the rear as was typical for high ranking officers of the Imperial Fleet. The Captain was arrayed with a convenient and compact specialized uniform of grey fleximetal.

He walked purposefully into the mouth of the cave, the picture becoming clearer as his pace began to slow.

What he saw ripped his breath from his lungs...

His troopers saw, they glanced at one another, it was quite atypical for their captain to react so strongly to anything.

Vader both heard and felt the footsteps of the approaching man, he remembered the dream but was now consumed by the same darkness... I't caused the dream to almost fade entirely from his mind... A part of him fought viciously and succeeded to barricading it deep in his mind.

Vader looked up... He was not surprised to see his 501'st legion troops guarding the entrance... They were good men, many hand picked by Vader over the years... But the Captain... That he did not expect.

"Lord Vader... Are you all right?" The captain said cautiously, not revealing the horror he felt deep down...

"Agent Kallus... I need to get to Naboo without delay." Vader replied as he still say there, his gaze on the opposite wall, his expression devoid of feeling... Which in itself spoke volumes of the inner termoil within Vaders mind.

Kallus was amazed at the sound of Vader's natural voice, the duality of it being combined with his artificial voice unnerved him however.

Kallus was dumb founded to see Ahsoka Tano there... Fulcrum... She was dead, he cursed internally, he would have to get the word out to the Ghost Crew somehow. He looked down at her beautiful face, at the two Lightsaber wounds and her chopped Lekku... She must have put up quite a fight, he thought with pride. He looked at Vader then, really looked... He was so shocked to see Fulcrum there that he hadn't registered that she was cradled in Vader's lap, that one of his hands was holding her. Did he know her?

Judging by Vader's behavior he must have known her well... He was almost too afraid to ask but he couldn't help himself.

"Lord Vader... What happened?" Kallus asked cautiously, not desiring to let it slip that he recognized Ahsoka while also being unable to contain his own curiosity.

Vader turned his head, showing his exposed eye to Kallus as he responded.

"I killed her." He said simply, not confiding any more information to Kallus.

Vader finally began to rise to his feet, he used the force to lift Ahsoka's limp body as he struggled to his feet.

"Shall I carry her for you?" Kallus blurted without thinking.

Vader didn't look angry, he looked weary... More weary than any man Kallus had ever seen.

"No, Kallus... I will... Carry her." He said, spacing out his words.

Kallus had seen men break down from battle before, Vader looked worse than any he had ever seen... And he had seen his fair share of carnage.

Without another word Vader lowered Ahsoka back into his arms and stood there like a stature.

Kallus noticed Ahsoka's Lightsabers attached to Vader's belt as Vader turned and began to walk from the cave, he had a slight limp... He saw the cut on his leg, it wasn't deep but it was enough to slow him significantly.

Vader walked towards the transport, barely noticing the 501'st standing guard around him, they followed him at his pace as they stole glances at the body in his arms.

"Kallus." Vader said in question.

"Yes Lord Vader?" Kallus answered dutifully.

"Bring out a hover stretcher." Vader commanded in a dead voice.

Kallus gestured at one of his troopers, the trooper nodded and rushed into the ship, as they continued on their path to the ship the trooper came out pushing a self levitating Gurney, it was large but thin, it wouldn't hide anything, its rustling black fabric made soft sounds as the trooper pushed it towards Vader.

Vader slowed as the Gurney closed the distance. With loving tenderness he laid Ahsoka down on it, making sure her feet and arms were secure, her Lekku was hanging down off the side, with a gesture that stung Kallus' eyes, Vader gently picked her Lekku up, he lifted one of Ahsokas arms and tucked the Lekku around her arm, he did this for her other arm as well.

Kallus was amazed, Vader was the last person in the universe that he ever expected see compassion or love from... He had known of Ahsoka but not personally... He did know however by his occasional correspondence with Zeb that Ahsoka and Kanan had a mutual attraction... Which might be an understatement. He had no idea how he was going to tell the crew... Or what he would say. He kept his face blank, getting himself killed wouldn't help anyone.

He followed Vader up the ramp into the transport, past the outer doors.

Kallus had only been on the dusty sun baked planet for less than half an hour but he already hated the hell hole and was glad to leave it, he entered the ships holding area, there were two rows of seats one on each side of the rectangular room and an open area in the middle. He went and sat down in the seat closest to the door on the right side row, Vader didn't take a seat, he set the gurney in the middle of the room and stood by it staring down into Ahsoka's closed eyes.

Vader reached forward gripping one of her hands, his mechanical limbs had all the same functions and senses as his old limbs had, and he could feel that her hand was still warm... Thoughts kept racing through his head... The only time he had wanted to die more was when he tried to commit suicide by crashing a building on top of himself... But fate was unkind for he had survived.

In the back of his mind Vader noticed that the men were all watching him in their own way... Just this once he didn't care how his men saw him... How Kallus saw him... He wouldn't have even cared if the Emperor was standing right beside him.

As his hand held hers, his other reached out and caressed her face... She had once been like her daughter... And like her real daughter she was dead... Dead at his own hands... Everything that he loved had a way of coming to ruin before it's time...

Kallus watched him, he understood such pain... He remembered seeing his own squad die to a man on Lothan... But this was somehow worse, Vader was acting like this was... Not like a good friend but more like... His child...

"Kallus." Vader asked, once again.

"Yes Lord Vader?" Kallus responded.

"Relay a message to Naboo." Vader commanded in a slightly authoritative tone.

"What message?" Kallus responded after nearly a dozen seconds of silence from Vader.

"Tell them... Tell them I want an empty sarcophagus placed in the Mausoleum of Padme Admidala, tell them to bring a droid that makes illustrations on stone as well... Tell them that it had better be a functional and pristine sarcophagus... Also tell them to retrieve the crates placed by Padme's Mausoleum, they contain emergency equipment for my suit" Vader ordered in a calm yet rigid tone, as if what he was asking was costing him everything.

"It will be done." Kallus assented.

Kallus moved to the cockpit to relay Vader's instructions, Vader remained motionless lost in thought as his hand still smoothed down Ahsoka's face.

Kallus returned a few minutes later, one his troopers gave him a quick meaningful look which Kallus could translate even though the trooper had his helmet on... His men were concerned with Vader's behavior, Kallus returned a steady gaze at the man communicating to him that he should think nothing of the matter.

They arrived on Theed after a relatively short time, about thirty minutes Kallus thought. The doors opened as the ramp descended downward onto the smooth hangar floor, they seemed to be in one of Naboo's massive hangars.

Kallus lifted a hand, letting his men know to wait until Vader left the, most of them stared at the body though a few stared at Vader.

Vader gently picked Ahsoka up in the same manner as before, he steadily left the room and walked down the ramp.

It looked like Vader knew exactly where he was going thought Kallus, of course he probably had been to Naboo numerous times if he had remembered a Mausoleum here... He wondered who "Padme Amidala" was to Vader... his intuition gave him a sinking feeling...

Kallus walked behind Vader a few feet and to his right, his squad following them in a line of two as Vader continued onward, they passed through numerous halls each with different splendors, most had furniture and intricate blown glass windows that let the light of the late day in through vibrant shafts, most of the rooms they passed through were hallways but occasionally Vader would cut a corner through a seemingly random room, some were banquet halls, others were militaristic in nature while others served numerous functions.

All the people that saw them gasped at the sight of the battle scarred Vader carrying a brutally murdered Togruta woman in his arms, with blood slowly seeping over his arms and occasionally dripping to the floor... Vader must really have respected... or Loved this woman thought Kallus as he stared at another drop of blood fall from Vader's left elbow.

After traversing a long hallway with windows to their left and on the ceiling, they suddenly entered a massive courtyard. Kallus had expected to see small buildings as most mausoleums were... but these buildings were large, likely ninety meters across and fifty meters tall, the building likely had different floors.

Pausing momentarily as he stared at the center building, Vader sluggishly started walking again, Kallus and keeping pace.

Near the entrance to the Mausoleum Vader paused, he turned to Kallus and the others and spoke in a soft but authoritative voice.

"I will enter alone, if you men have other needs that need seeing to then this is the time." He said distractedly.

Vader looked at Kallus.

"Be sure that the droid and the crates are ready for me when I come out." Kallus nodded at his instruction.

Vader turned and slowly ascended the steps into the beautiful building as Kallus watched.

Kallus unexpected sorrow for Vader, he knew that pain as most of his men did... Though they never let anyone see... As Kallus began to plan out how he would contact the ghost... He started to imagine what he would say, he then began to feel just a sliver of the pain that Vader must be drowning in, Kallus grimaced as he turned from the door as he began walking to his remaining troopers.

Vader entered into the beautiful room, memories of his previous visit licking at his burning soul as he trudged slowly to the center of the room where his beloved wife slept... Light from a massive window let in the light of sunset, it bathed both sarcophagus in brilliant orange light, Vader had trouble thinking with so much agony lacing his thoughts, the guilt threatened to crush him as he approached the white tomb, his smoldering eyes leaking water as he held Ahsoka to him for the last time... He was still dazed by what he had done to them both... Padme... Now Ahsoka, he killed everyone he loved.

He slowly walked to the empty tomb, looking at its inner compartment... These sacrophagus were special in that they preserved the dead for eons in their special stasis field... He found it fitting that his own face would sag and decay long before Ahsoka or Padme's would... Justice he thought to himself.

Sighing at the reality of what his life had become he gazed into Ahsoka's face, his left hand down to his elbow was covered in her blood... Inside his head he seemed to be the only one screaming for vengeance, he literally had her blood on his hands... gasping at the scene, he began to lower Ahsoka into the tomb, the special material at the bottom conformed to her shape... He reached down straightening her feet so they pointed upright, he straightened her knees so that they also pointed upright which straightened her thighs.

More tears pooled in his lower mask as he folded her arms across her chest making her elbows into an articulate pattern, he wove her Lekku under her arms and around her wrists. He tenderly reached over and straightened her head, making her look noble, he gritted his teeth at the sight of the burns in her stomach and chest and at the missing top of her left Lekku... He deserved everything that had happened to him he thought with seething self hatred... suddenly a thought came to him...

He unclipped the Silka beads at his belt, holding them up in the orange light he moaned in pain, he clipped them onto her Lekku... She couldn't wear them in exile but in death she would have the honor for all eternity... lastly he detached her Lightsabers from his belt, placing one in each hand, he had to closer her fist a little tighter over the rent blade of her dismantled saber... he offhandedly smiled in pride at the thought of her acquiring not one but two silver Kyber Crystals... nothing could stop her when she was determined... Except him of course.

Finished he leaned on her tomb as he stared into her face, he reached over one last time and made sure her eyes were closed properly, his hand lingered on her cheek... He slowly retracted his gloved hand...

"I am so sorry Ahsoka." He said gazing down at her, at the fruits of his efforts in this life...

Using the force he lifted the cap of the sarcophagus, it glided over delicately as he slowly attached it to the base, he stepped back a few paces. He lifted his hands and moved Ahsoka's tomb up against his wife's, this is where his heart and soul had been laid to rest... They would watch over it until he joined them in death... His only regret is that he wasn't already with them.

Vader pressed a button on his wrist console which alerted the droid he had requested, after a minute it hovered through the door way, it stopped a few feet from him beeping at him clearly asking what he needed.

Vader turned to the droid, he directed what he wanted written on Ahsoka's sarcophagus, the droid began to work immediately... It chipped away at the pristine white marble, it finished far quicker than he would have believed possible, in only a couple minutes it had carved his instructions.

Vader walked around the tomb, turning as he stared down at the inscription... The Epitaph read:

"Ahsoka Tano

Beloved friend of Padme Amidala

Beloved apprentice of Anakin Skywalker"

There was a carving of her face below the Epitaph, it also surprised him because it was identical to her. There was a button that showed a 3D projection of Ahsoka when pressed, by his voice commands he modified the image so it didn't shown the brutal wounds he had inflicted on her, it looked perfectly how she had appeared in her last and final fight...

He dismissed the droid as he walked back around the tombs, the light was fading from the room... loneliness consumed him much as the dark shadows began to envelop the grand area.

Suddenly he stumbled forward dropping to his knees from the emotional pain and the continual loss of oxygen from his damaged mask, he placed one hand on each tomb for support and comfort as he leaned forward, his helmet placed their tombs... He decided at that moment that he wouldn't fix his mask... He would allow himself to die... He soon lost himself in memories... some bright but most dark as he went into a deep trance for the second time that day.

After two hours Kallus became a bit worried, he decided to take a quick look to make sure Vader wasn't dead or anything. He walked across the courtyard as his men looked at him, he gestured for them to stay where they were as he proceeded to the large building, he slowed his pace as he ascended the stairs, near the door way he hesistantly shifted his head past the door breach, he looked in and found Vader kneeling with each hand over a tomb... The sun had set long ago thus the only light in the room from artificial lamps stationed strategically around the room, most of them were dimmed likely by Vader's orders, he knelt in the darkness as if he was one with the shadows.

Kallus could hear the ragged breathing of Vader's mask... It was still damaged... He didn't know whether he dared to ask whether Vader needed help. Kallus decided it would be safer and wiser to just wait outside until Vader chose to come out... Assuming he came out at all with how damaged his suit was.

"Why should I care?" Kallus thought, he did kill Fulcrum and likely many other Rebels. Kallus had grown fond of the Rebels since his little adventure with Zeb Orrelios, he had found himself agreeing with their politics more and more as well... It might be better if Vader died... But then he thought about Ahsoka, Fulcrum was a huge Rebel confidant and soldier, yet she seemed to have faced Vader without an escape plan which was very odd considering her resourcefulness, the only way he could see her dying like that is if she chose that fate, yet why would she choose that fate...She must have thought something was worth dying for, but what?

It came to him then... There was only thing she would have stayed for... Choosing death rather than fleeing, he turned back and stared at Vader himself... Maybe she was trying to turn Vader to their side? Which means she must have seen something in Vader... Yes, she must have... He had seen something in Vader as well... He had never seen an inquisitor or even any of the other high ranking Imperial officials show remorse or empathy for anyone living or dead... Yet this Sith seemed to be choking on his own grief for his murder of Ahsoka. Kallus rubbed his chin thoughtfully as he began to see Vader in a new light... Perhaps he could be swayed, he would definitely be an unparalleled asset to the Rebellion... Yet Ahsoka who he clearly loved was unable to sway him so what chance did he have? He suddenly heard Vader's chest console start beeping erratically, Kallus rushed down the steps running for the crates, they were open and waiting for Vader.

Kallus found the Mask and its constituent components, holding them in his arms he rushed back to the Mausoleum.

Vader began gasping for breath as his mask was rapidly losing efficiency, he doubted he had the strength to get up and retrieve his mask components... This filled him with the joy knowing that his death loomed near, he remembered Ahsoka's promise that he would be with all of them again... Whether true or illusion he didn't honestly care at that moment.

Losing more strength as he focused on the dream from earlier, he dropped down, his shoulder leaning against their tombs as he slowly began to lose consciousness... Someone was turning him over. His mask was making a strained high pitch sound.

"Captain Kallus the medical droid isn't here... What are we supposed to do?" Someone was asking Kallus as Vader's eyes began to darken with the lack of oxygen.

Someone turned him over so he was sitting against the tomb, he saw that it was Kallus... Kallus had a sympathetic look on his face... He didn't expect anyone to care if he was dying much less do something about it.

Kallus removed the top of his helmet, then quickly pulled Vader's mask off.

"Kallus was someone experienced with droid and suit maintenance, but this was different from either... He saw the clip at the bottom of the protruding mouth piece, Kallus reached in unclipping it from the base of the helmet as he put in a new component, he then grabbed the new mask and quickly put it on Vader.

The breathing sound returned to normal as Vader sat there.

"It seems fate isn't done with me yet." Vader murmured as he passed out. Kallus left him to sit there as they wen't and got the medical droid and bacta.

Kallus stood over Vader... He knew how dangerous Vader was and how he might destroy the Rebellion... But Ahsoka had thought him worth saving and had given her life to that cause, he wasn't about to waste her sacrifice... Kallus smiled sadly, now he knew how he would explain this to the Ghost crew. Kallus had his men leave as he on the opposite side of the room while Vader recovered, the medical droid suddenly entered into the room with two of the medical staff, they walked over to Vader, they lifted him onto a hover stretcher similar to the one Vader had used for Ahsoka as the carried him out of the room.

Kallus watched... He turned back to the tombs... He walked to the tomb that Vader had laid Ahsoka in, he placed his hand on it and whispered...

"I won't let your sacrifice be in vain Ahsoka, I will help in whatever way I can." He promised her about to turn away but paused as he noticed the inscription.

"Ahsoka Tano"... So he added her actual name to the tomb? He read down, "Beloved friend of Padme Amidala", Kallus glanced over at the other tomb but it was the last line that stunned him.

"Beloved apprentice of Anakin Skywalker" So... She was his apprentice then... That explained everything, of course he would treat her as his child... The apprentice of Jedi were like the children of their masters in a way... "The poor bastard." He thought, He had a feeling that Padme had been his wife... If true then Vader or Anakin had now lost two of the most loved people in his life...

Kallus now had a new respect for Vader after learning this truth, the man could indeed be turned by the right person at the right time, someone who could love was someone who could be saved.

Kallus looked at the bottom of the tomb, he pressed the activation switch for the Hologram which showed Ahsoka in different poses, there was one where she activated her Lightsabers which were silver... After studying the image he turned it off, rubbing his chin he slowly walked out of the room... The events of the day showed that there was indeed hope for the rebellion even if they had just lost one of their strongest soldiers... He sighed at the looming quantity of work that laid ahead of him, he admired Fulcrum very much... "I might even use her name until I think of a better one" he grinned at the prospect, he left the building with the light of hope burning in his eyes.


End file.
